Wednesday, 26 June 2013

Lulu,
also known as Lu, is a playable character in Final Fantasy X. She is
one of Yuna's Guardians. Alongside Auron, she is the wisest and most
mature of them all. Since Lulu grew up with Yuna in Besaid, she and
Wakka think of Yuna as a younger sister. Lulu's stoic and self-possessed
nature makes her seem insensitive at times, but she has a hidden bit of
gentleness underneath.She specializes in the art of Black Magic,
using various dolls to help cast powerful spells. She is instrumental in
helping Tidus adjust to the world of Spira, although she does not fully
believe his claim of being from Zanarkand.

Appearance and Personality"Yuna's
guardian, and an accomplished black mage. She's guarded two summoners
before Yuna, and learned much from those pilgrimages. No one, not even
Wakka, knows how she controls the puppets she uses as weapons."—Scan description

Lulu
deviates from the "traditional Black Mage look" like that of Vivi
Ornitier. Instead, she takes on inspirations from the traditional obeah
voodoo priestess and a modern day witch who are known for their
mysterious manner of clothing as well as their common practice with
black magic and usage of voodoo dolls. She is dressed in an low-cut
fur-lined dark-grey-and-black dress that prominently displays her ample
cleavage (from which she also pulls out items when she uses the Item
command).She wears a huge collection of interlaced belts below the
waist. Her hair is tied up in a knot at the top with long braids
dangling from it. She wears many accessories, including several
necklaces, rings and many ear piercings, as well as dark purple make up.
Her strange manner of dress is a rather stark contrast from the other
residents of the tropical isle.

She was raised in Besaid as an
orphan alongside Wakka, Chappu, and later Yuna, after her parents, who
she remembers just a little, were killed by Sin when she was five years
old. At some point in her past, she became romantically involved with
Chappu, Wakka's younger brother, and he even considered proposing to
her. However, Chappu suddenly joined the Crusaders to make the world
safer for Lulu (because "Being with your girl is good, but keeping Sin
away from her is better".) and died in an operation against Sin
somewhere near Djose, before he could propose to her.

Later, she
would find out that Luzzu, a Crusader and friend of Chappu, was the one
that convinced him to enlist in the Crusaders; when telling the truth to
Wakka, and being punched shortly after, Luzzu stated that she hit him
too when he told her. Unlike Wakka, she is more accepting of Chappu's
death and she does not place blame for it. Nevertheless, she still
brings him up often and says how Tidus or anyone else will "never take
Chappu's place".

Lulu is first mentioned in the game by Wakka: he
warns Tidus about Yuna's guardians, stating that "One of them's got a
short fuse". Indeed, Lulu is often stern and scathing (particularly to
Wakka), and does not smile very often. However, she is nonetheless
kindhearted and caring toward others. She is also highly intelligent,
and is one of the few Yevonites who easily questions the Yevon religion
on objective terms.

StorySpoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow. (Skip section)Final Fantasy X"What are you doing here? Didn't think we'd be able to handle it?"—Lulu's opening linesBefore
becoming a guardian to Yuna, Lulu guarded two previous summoners whose
pilgrimages abruptly ended before reaching the Zanarkand Ruins. The
first summoner Lulu guarded was Lady Ginnem, to whom she was a sole
guardian. However, being young and inexperienced, Lulu was unable to
prevent Ginnem's death in the Cavern of the Stolen Fayth, during an
attempt to acquire the aeon Yojimbo. Lulu would harbor intense guilt
over her summoner's death, and Lady Ginnem's soul remained unsent, until
later, during Yuna's pilgrimage. The second summoner she served as
guardian to, alongside Wakka, was Father Zuke. His pilgrimage ended at
the Calm Lands, as he chose not to continue, a decision many summoners
make when they reach those plains.

Lulu berating Wakka.When
Yuna (for whom she cares for like a little sister) decided to became a
summoner, Lulu protested at first, but eventually agreed to become her
guardian, as well as Wakka and Kimahri. Lulu is very protective of Yuna
and also respectful of the decisions she makes. She knows that Yuna made
her own choice to become a summoner, knowing what it would mean. She
travels to Kilika with Yuna, Wakka, Kimahri, and Tidus, a young man who
claims to come from Zanarkand and looks a lot like Chappu. Although Lulu
does not believe that he is from Zanarkand, she offers Tidus patient
and uncomplicated explanations about Spira.During their journey to
the Kilika Island, the ship they were aboard was attacked by Sin, and
Lulu helped fending it off. Later, Sin destroyed the town of Kilika.
There, Lulu provided Tidus with information regarding about the sending,
pyreflies, and fiends as the man was not aware of it. The morning after
destruction, she sets with Yuna, Tidus, Wakka, and Kimahri for the
temple on the mountain top. At the stone steps to the temple, a remains
of Sin attack them, but Lulu along the others defeat it.

In the
temple, they meet Dona and her guardian, Barthello. She along with Yuna,
and two other guardians enter the Cloister of Trials, but she denies
Tidus's addition in the Cloister as "he's not a guardian yet". Later,
they meet with Tidus in the Antechamber where Tidus explains that Dona
and her "big muscle head" pushed him here, and Lulu says that it will be
Yuna to suffer the consequences. After Yuna obtains the aeon Ifrit, the
group leaves to Luca, where the blitzball tournament is taking place.

While
journeying on another ship, Lulu and Wakka have a conversation about
Tidus. She is worried about Wakka's intentions of that Tidus might not
meet someone he knows, yet the man is sure that it will happen. She also
advises him to tell Tidus that he should become a guardian, and Wakka
wonders why it should be him. Lulu explains that it would be hard for
Yuna to ask Tidus to became her guardian and his father was to hers
father. The next day, the party arrives at Luca where Grand Maester Yo
Mika along with Seymour Guado arrive. Lulu explains that it is Mika's
fiftieth anniversary of being a grand maester and this year's blitzball
tournament is held in his memory.

Later, Yuna and Tidus go to the
city to check if rumors that Auron is in the town are true. Some time
later, she comes to the square and informs Tidus and Kimahri that Yuna
have been kidnapped by the Al Bhed Psyches and that in order of her save
return they want the Aurochs to loose. Tidus is determined to go rescue
Yuna, but Kimahri looks at him with a look saying shouldn't he be at
the match. Lulu says that Wakka told her that he will participate in the
match while they go rescue Yuna. Just before the Al Bhed ship leaves,
the three are able to jump on board. They are quickly attack by
Oblitzerator, but quickly dispose it. Yuna arrives through the door from
the ship, and Lulu says her hopes that "she hurt them" and Yuna remarks
with "a little".

Then Lulu shoots a flare into the air informing
of their location. After the final match against the Luca Goers, fiends
attack the stadium. While Lulu fends off the beasts, Seymour summons
Anima and slays all the fiends impressing everyone gathered in the
stadium. When they are about to leave, Tidus comes with Auron asking
Yuna to be her guardian. Lulu and Wakka show surprise with Auron's
actions, yet accept his offer together with the young summoner.

The Chocobo Eater attacks a chocobo.While
traveling across the Mi'ihen Highroad, they come across an Al Bhed
Travel Agency which belongs to a man named Rin. Despite Wakka's
protests, they rest there. On the next day. when they are about to leave
a Chocobo Eater attacks chocobos and the party volunteers in saving the
birds from the fiend. Later, when they are to enter the Mushroom Rock
Road, a Crusader blocks their path saying that an important battle,
Operation Mi'ihen, is about to begin. When they are about to leave back
to the Travel Agency, Seymour along with his guardians come and asks
them if he can do anything for them, and Yuna shows him the pass to the
Mushroom Rock Road. When Seymour asks the Crusader to let them pass and
receives a positive answer, he say that it is done. Yuna bows in
thankfulness and starts to think, but Lulu rushes her.At the
Mushroom Rock Road, they see how Seymour is backing up Crusaders and
also the participating Al Bhed and Wakka shows his fears regarding using
machina to defeat Sin. When Yuna says she believes it is worth it as it
is for the greater good. Wakka then asks Lulu about her opinion, but
she says she can only speculate. Then they head to the command center on
a top of the rock. Wakka shows again his hatred towards the Al Bhed and
kicks a cannon and Tidus remarks of how Wakka hate them, and Lulu
explains that his brother, Chappu, left the sword he gave to him and
fought with the machina weapon instead.

At the command center,
Wen Kinoc orders to start the Operation, and the Al Bhed are
"encouraging" the Sinspawn to call Sin, but few moments later the
Sinspawn break out and the party is forced to battle against Sinspawn
Gui which they defeat. However, Sin comes and kills many people, but
those at the command center are saved. Back at the shore, Lulu shows her
concern about Tidus as he fall into the water and was close to Sin
again being afraid that the toxin may got to him "again".

From
there, they continue their pilgrimage to Zanarkand and Lulu explains
that that need to first cross the Moonflow, and then across the Guado
city of Guadosalam, and then they cross the Thunder Plains and go the
the temple in Macalania, and Tidus complains of how long the journey
will be. Yuna then notifies him that they first need to go to Djose and
pray at the temple. When they arrive at Djose, the Lightning Mushroom
Rock opens and Lulu says that it means that another summoner must be
addressing the fayth, and Yuna worries, while Tidus hopes that it's not
Dona. In the temple, they meet another summoner, Isaaru, along with his
two brother guardians, Maroda and Pacce. Then they set for the Cloister
of Trials, and arrive at the Antechamber.

When Yuna enter the
Chamber of the Fayth, Dona arrives with Barthello, and once again
remarks of how "crowdy" is Yuna's guardian party, and calls Auron a
"riff-raff", causing Lulu to ask her if she really calls herself a
summoner being angry with that she acts very cocky towards Yuna and her
guardians. Then they leave the Antechamber, and sleep. On the next day,
they are about to leave, but have to wait for Yuna to wake up. When she
arrives just after Tidus, she starts to apologize to everyone. Lulu
points Yuna her messy hair, and Yuna says that they could have woken her
up, but Lulu jokes that they called to her, but her loud snoring was
difficult to withstand. Then Yuna gets angry with that everyone is
picking on her, and everyone starts to laugh, including Auron. After
this, they set to the Macalania.

In the Moonflow, Yuna and her
guardians come across Biran and Yenke Ronso picking on a young man. When
they notice Kimahri, they make fun of him due to his lost horn and that
he will loose his summoner. When they leave, during a conversation
regarding about summoners disappearing shows her concern about the
matter. At the South Wharf they board the shoopuf and go the North
Wharf. During their travel across Moonflow atop the shoopuf, Wakka asks
Tidus to look into the water and he notices ruins of a great ancient
city. Then a conversation starts regarding machina, and Lulu says that
Yevon decides which machina they can, and which they cannot use, giving
guns as an example of forbidden machina.

Suddenly, an Al Bhed
squad attacks the shoopuf and take Yuna hostage, but Wakka and Tidus act
quickly and dive and save the young summoner. Back on the shoopuf, Lulu
asks her if she's alright, and along with Wakka the two come to
conclusion that it is the Al Bhed that kidnap the summoners. On the
North Wharf, they come along a young girl, Rikku. Wakka shows concern
about girl's state, and Rikku starts to talk in private with Yuna and
Lulu. She asks Yuna to be her guardian, and Yuna asks Auron for his
opinion. When he sees the girl's eyes, he asks her if she's certain and
she replies "one hundred percent". Wakka accepts with enthusiasm Rikku's
addition to the guardian party. Later, they go to Guadosalam.

When
they enter Guadosalam, a Guado will come and ask Yuna and her guardians
to come to the manor per Seymour's request, but Wakka interferences. He
then apologizes for his rude behavior and tells them that his name is
Tromell. They hesitantly agree and enter the manor and await Seymour's
arrival. Lulu explains Tidus that summoners mostly pass-by as there's no
temple there, and Tidus laughs. When asked by Lulu why he laughed, he
says that she explains things without him even asking, and she asks her
if he would prefer if she didn't say anything, but the man denies and
says his hopes that Lulu seems to finally started to understand that he
knows nothing of Spira. When they wait, Tromell starts to talk how
Seymour came and praises him, but Seymour arrives and reprimands Tromell
that he doesn't really need so much praise. He then shows Yuna and her
guardians a sphere which is a reconstruction of Zanarkand, made of the
memories of the dead gathered in the Farplane.

Later, he shows
them a room with Yunalesca and Zaon and talks about her sacrifice and
how she was the first summoner to defeat Sin. While there, he whispers
something to Yuna which seems to surprise her. Back in the dining hall,
Yuna reveals that Seymour proposed to marry her, but Auron is not fond
of the idea. Later, the party goes to the Farplane where Yuna wants to
talk with her parents and decide on what to do. There in the Abyss, Lulu
overwatches Wakka as he is talking with Chappu's spirit where he tells
it that he gave the sword to a similarly-looking man to him. The woman
reveals bits of her love story with Chappu to Tidus, and says that he
always said that "she looked grumpy", but considers those old days the
happiest of her life.

When they are about to leave the Farplane,
the spirit of Lord Jyscal Guado emerges and Yuna approaches it. Lulu and
Auron ask and demand her to send him which she does sadly. Then they
wonder why he emerged, and Rikku considers it to be "against the rules",
and Lulu says that a strong emotion must have bound him to this world
and that such things happen. When Yuna leaves to the mansion to reply
for the proposal, Lulu and Tidus have a conversation about Yuna's
getting married. Lulu is partially supportive of the marriage as it will
give the people of Spira "something cheery to talk about, for a change"
and that will tighten relations between the Guado and humans. Tidus,
however, is against the marriage, and Lulu says that she would prefer if
Yuna married for love, but would have to decline such marriage. After
Tidus finds out from Shelinda that Seymour left Guadosalam, Rikku gets
Yuna and they leave for the Thunder Plains.

During their march
across the Thunder Plains, Rikku's fear of lightning causes the party to
temporarily withdraw to the local Travel Agency. There, Yuna says that
she's tired and asks an clerk for available rooms and when she receives a
positive answer, she heads to the room. Lulu says it's not like her,
and Tidus goes to check on Yuna, who when discovered that she was
discovered, quickly run off and Wakka rushed after Tidus. After this,
they continue their journey to Macalania. In the middle of the northern
Plains, Yuna presses everyone to listen to her as she has something
important to announce to them. Rikku protests and says that they are
nearly out of there and Lulu is surprised by Yuna's request due to their
location, but Auron points out a safe place from lightnings under a
covered rumble.

Yuna reveals that she decided to marry Seymour
which is not a surprise to Lulu. When Yuna is questioned by Wakka why
she decided to marry and she replies that it's for Spira's future and
Yevon's unity, Lulu asks the young summoner if Jyscal is the cause of
her decision and Tidus reveals that Yuna was watching a sphere. When
Auron demands Yuna to show him the sphere, she denies, and he hopes that
Yuna will continue her pilgrimage and she assures him of that. Tidus
protests, but Auron says that facing Sin is summoner's privilege and the
rest is her concern. Then they finally leave the Thunder Plains and
enter the Macalania Woods.

In the dead end near the Travel Agency
in Macalania, Auron shows the party a spring explaining that spheres
are made of the spring's liquid. Suddenly, the Spherimorph attacks, but
is quickly dispatched and leaves a sphere behind. Auron says that the
sphere is ten years old and was recorded by Jecht surprising everyone.
They watch the movies recorded in it and leave for the Temple. At the
Agency's front they are welcomed by Tromell and says that they were
pleasantly surprised by Yuna's sudden visit and takes Yuna following the
Guado traditions. When Yuna and Tromell leave, they are suddenly
attacked by the Al Bhed, then the guardians come to protect them and
Auron asks Tromell and Yuna to stand back, but the young summoner
decides to fight.

Then a teen Al Bhed boy appears with a large
machina and commands it to attack the party. They destroy the machina,
and Tromell finally leaves with Yuna to the Temple. Then Rikku speaks
with the teen Al Bhed in Al Bhed and the boy leaves. Wakka wonders how
Rikku can speak Al Bhed, and she reveals that she is an Al Bhed driving
him mad. When Wakka asks other if they knew about Rikku's lineage, he
asks why they didn't tell him and Lulu says that they knew he would be
upset. Then Wakka and Rikku have a hot debate about Yevon and Sin, but
doesn't come to any conclusion. After this, the party uses the Al Bhed
machina to travel to Macalania, much to Wakka's rage.

The group
then travels to Macalania, where they confront and defeat Seymour, after
discovering he murdered his own father, Jyscal. They manage to escape,
only to be trapped under the ice. After Sin washes them away to Bikanel
Island, Yuna is kidnapped by the Al Bhed and later taken by the Guado.
Lulu and the other guardians go to Bevelle to save her, but they are
caught and tried for treason. Eventually, they manage to escape and save
Yuna.

Lulu, before fighting Yunalesca.The group
continues the pilgrimage to Zanarkand. On the way there, they visit the
Cavern of the Stolen Fayth, where Lulu decides to face her painful
memories. At the back of the cave, the group meets the unsent form of
Lady Ginnem, the human personality she once held all but completely
buried in envy for the living. Lulu felt that she must fulfill a last
duty to Ginnem as a guardian in ensuring that her spirit would depart to
rest peacefully in the Farplane. After fighting and defeating
Yojimbo—the aeon used by Ginnem—Ginnem's spirit departs for the
Farplane. Finally at the ruins of the Zanarkand, they discover the truth
about Yevon and defeat Yunalesca. Lulu adjusts to this reality faster
than some of the other former believers in her party (one of them being
Wakka).

Lulu during Yuna's speech.The group then hatches a
plan to engage Sin head-on and venture inside to defeat the monster at
its core, Yu Yevon. Lulu fights along with her comrades and protects
Yuna until the end. After the destruction of Sin, Tidus begins to fade
away, and Lulu is shown waving goodbye to him as he takes a running leap
off the airship. She attends Yuna's speech at the Luca Stadium, falls
in love with Wakka and six months later they are wed to one another.Eternal CalmWhile
on the Al Bhed ship, Wakka tells Rikku that she should say "hi" to
Lulu. Later, when Yuna decides to go on a new journey, Wakka says to
give him time as he will go get Lulu. However, they don't make it as
Yuna and Rikku already left for Luca.Final Fantasy X-2

Baby Vidina."I'm not there, so you can spread your wings."—LuluIn
Final Fantasy X-2 Lulu is pregnant with—and gives birth to—Wakka's
child. Lulu stays largely out of events in Final Fantasy X-2 due to her
pregnancy. When Yuna first returns to the village Lulu comments on
Yuna's new lifestyle, and warns her to beware those who would use Yuna's
status as High Summoner to their advantage and then invites YRP to stay
the night.When fiends attack from the Chamber of the Fayth at
Besaid Temple she explains how the village has dealt with the attack and
tells Yuna that the villagers will feel better knowing Yuna is home.

In
Chapter Five, Lulu finally gives birth to her baby, and she waits
patiently for Wakka to choose the boy's name. He settles on "Vidina",
the Al Bhed word for "future". Later, when they are alone, she tells
Wakka that she has faith in him and that they are in this together,
encouraging him and saying that he will not "drop the ball".

She is later seen on Besaid Beach with Vidina as Tidus and Yuna reunite in front of the villagers.

Spoilers end here.In Battle

Lulu casts a spell.Lulu
is a Black Mage, and thus her physical attacks and defense are
initially weaker than the other characters', although her Defense stat
can get quite high as there are a good number of Defense nodes on her
section of the Sphere Grid. Her HP, Strength, Accuracy, and Agility will
always remain fairly low. Lulu relies on magic attacks, which is why
her Magic, Magic Defense, MP, Defense, and Evasion are strong. Her
weapons consist of dolls based on classic Final Fantasy creatures:
Moogle, Cait Sith, Moomba, Cactuar, and PuPu. She equips bangles on her
arm for defense. Her personality can be seen when she "slaps" fiends for
some of her counter-attacks. She performs a regular attack as a ground
counter attack, and does a backhand when countering a flying fiend.Lulu
and the rest of the Final Fantasy X cast are the first Final Fantasy
characters that have different casting magic poses based on the spell's
tier. For example: if Lulu is using tier 1 magic, e.g Fire, she simply
puts her hand on her shoulder then casts it. For rank 2 magic, e.g Fira,
she raises her right arm up past her head, and lastly, for tier 3 magic
or greater, like Firaga or Flare, she raises her both arms to the sky,
then bring them around to the ground in a full circle, casting the
magic. The doll she is using falls to the ground and mimics her pose.

Lulu's
Overdrive is called Fury. It casts a barrage of up to sixteen spells on
the target. To successfully execute Fury, the must be rotated 360
degrees. More spins add more castings. Nearly all of the Black Magic
spells can be cast. These spells cannot be evaded, protected against, or
prevented in any way and do not cost MP, but do significantly less
damage than a normal casting of the same spell. Lulu cannot cast a spell
with Fury until she learns it in the Sphere Grid, and she can only
Fury-cast Black Magic.

Lulu can be recruited as a party member
Final Fantasy X-2: International + Last Mission through the Creature
Capture system. In order to recruit Lulu, the player must set up a
Special Monster Pod in Besaid during a New Game Plus file. She has
access to some of her Fury abilities from Final Fantasy X and can use
any of the common dresspheres. Like all monster allies, Lulu is
controlled by the game's AI.

TraitRare CoinLocationWin from the Bevelle Core Sphere player in the Luca Stadium.Creation and DevelopmentTetsuya
Nomura gave Lulu numerous belts to test the graphics developers, to see
if they could get the exact combination, number of belts, and overall
design correct every time. In turn, the graphics developers found a way
around this by only showing Lulu from the waist up or from behind in
many of the CGI scenes.Her usage of dolls as weapons refers to the unused concept of dolls as weapons for Final Fantasy VI.

Director
Motomu Toriyama has said Lulu was relegated to a supporting role in
Final Fantasy X-2 because if she had been in the party Yuna would have
relied on her like an older sister, and this would have got in the way
of her quest to find a new self.[1]

Musical Themes"Lulu's Theme"

Trouble with the audio sample?Lulu's
theme is simply called "Lulu's Theme", a song from the original
soundtrack of the game. The theme plays only once over the course of the
game, when Lulu is forced to face the unsent form of Lady Ginnem and
the group fights Yojimbo in the hidden subquest involving the Cavern of
the Stolen Fayth.Other AppearancesFinal Fantasy Trading Card GameThere
are two cards depicting Lulu in the Final Fantasy Trading Card Game.
One is her official artwork with transparent face artwork in the
background, whilst the other one is part of her promotional poster from
Final Fantasy X.

Final Fantasy X-2EtymologyLulu is an
Arabic word meaning "pearl". It is also the diminutive or vernacular
form of the female name Louisa, Louise or Lucy, or of their variant
forms. Lulu is also of Swahili, Tanzanian and Hawaiian origin, and it
means the "precious", "pearl", "calm", "peaceful", and "protected". It
also means "light" in Latin. Also, according to Webster's New Collegiate
Dictionary, "lulu" was an early 20th century term used to described a
woman with unique talents or ability.[2]TriviaDespite being nine
months pregnant and giving birth during Final Fantasy X-2, she shows
none of the physical tell-tale signs, even to the point that Rikku says
that she "doesn't look pregnant". This is due to programmers not wanting
to create a new character model for her.Lulu and Paine wear similar
garments unique only to them in the entirety of Spira as well as both
being remarkably composed and serious. They are also the only characters
in Spira with red irises.In Final Fantasy X, Lulu's "element" is
suggested to be Thunder via the introductory flan battle at Besaid
Island where the player is meant to use Thunder, an entry spell for her
first in-battle appearance at Bikanel Island casting Thundara, and
during journey across Thunder Plains where Rikku tells about how her
brother used Thunder spell on which Lulu replies she could learn some
black magic. It is further implied in Final Fantasy Trading Card Game
where her cards are assigned to Thunder element. In addition, the player
obtains her Venus Sigil on the Thunder Plains. However, upgrading her
Celestial Weapon, the Onion Knight, grants Shiva the Break Damage Limit
trait, while upgrading Kimahri's Spirit Lance gives the trait to Ixion.
This is likely because she is the only female character besides Yuna to
be attributed to an aeon, as upgrading the weapons of Rikku and Tidus
(who are not Yevonites) has no effect on any aeon.Strangely Lulu has one of the highest Defense stat in the game which uncharacteristic of her class (black mage).Lulu's feet are never seen by the player during normal gameplay.In Final Fantasy XIII-2's Brain Blast quiz, Lulu is mentioned as the name of a girl from the song "Tiny Lulu".